Torchwood Meets the Doctor: Poker Night
by The Fellow Marauder
Summary: A Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover. Captain Jack brings his co-workers back to Torchwood after hours to meet a few very unusual friends of his. They all end up meeting and playing poker. Please R


Pre-Story Notes: This is a _Torchwood_ / _Doctor Who_ crossover. I should also note that 1) I have not yet seen the entire series of _TW_ up to this point, so some things I mention may be out of date. 2) I _have_, however, seen everything of _DW_ up to this point, and am aware Rose is no longer in the series. Does that matter to my story? Of course not! So just play along.

Character Pair-ups: Doctor/Rose, Ianto/Jack, Gwen/Owen

"What's going on here?" Toshiko asked, sending a suspicious glance toward her boss. Gwen, who had Owen's right arm draped over her shoulders, agreed with her co-worker.

"Yeah, Jack. This was supposed to be our night off. Why'd you bring us back to Torchwood?" Jack, always the mystery man, merely smiled at them. His eyes sparkled from the reflection of the city lights. They almost seemed to dance as they scanned over Tosh, Gwen and Owen. Intrigued, the three of them could do nothing but follow their boss back into the Torchwood building.

"Really, boss, what's this for?" Owen tried again as Jack slipped behind the counter at reception to open the secret door to their operation. A sigh escaped Jack's lips. Knowing he couldn't keep his secret any longer, he turned to face his co-workers. "I brought along some friends of mine for you to meet."

"You have friends?" Owen asked. Tosh laughed, but covered her mouth with her hand so Jack wouldn't see. Gwen smiled and lightly slapped Owen on the chest with the back of her hand. Owen tossed her a faux-contempt look while Jack grinned like a child.

"These are some old friends of mine. They're always traveling, but came for a visit. I wanted you to meet them." With that, Jack spun around and disappeared into the house itself. Gwen, Tosh and Owen exchanged looks between them just before they followed.

Inside Torchwood base, Ianto carried a tray precariously up the steps to the table that had been set up on the second floor. The tray carried a tea pot, several cups and saucers, as well as a plate of fresh store-bought cookies. As he made it to the top of the steps, one of the guests spoke to him. "Oh, you don't have to do that!" he chuckled. Getting up from his chair, he meandered over to Ianto. "Seriously; let me do that." He reached out his hands to take the tray, but Ianto pulled out of reach.

"It's my job." The usual shy member of Torchwood said firmly, staring at the tall man in the pin-striped suit. The man stepped back, his hands up in the air in surrender.

"Ooh. Kitty's got claws." He teased, flashing a brilliant smile that danced into his chestnut eyes. "Looks like Captain Jack's got you trained well." Ianto opened his mouth to object, or say anything, but his vocal chords chose that moment to stop working. Instead, his jaw opened and closed several times before he resigned himself to embarrassment. Bowing his head, his eyes remained fixed on his shoes as his cheeks heated up. Another member of the party stood up and walked over to the two men. She pushed her golden blond hair behind her ear and slapped her friend's shoulder with her other hand. Ianto gently slipped past them and placed the tray down on the table.

"Don't be mean to him, Doctor." The blond smiled at him.

"I wasn't being _mean_," the Doctor insisted, running his fingers through his highlighted, slightly mohawk'd hair. "I was just teasing him, Rose." Rose smiled at the Doctor, knowing she no longer had an argument. At the table, Donna was about to say something when she was interrupted by the Torchwood staff. Jack came bounding up the stairs, his heavy boots hitting every other metal step. When he made it to the second floor, he stood in front of the Doctor with his arms wide open.

"Doc," he greeted. "How ya been?"

"Very good." The Doctor responded, a smile still on his face. "And look at you," he gestured toward the other members of Torchwood. "You have your own...gang." Jack laughed as the other members smiled. Tosh stepped past her boss and shook the Doctor's hand.

"I'm Toshiko Sato. Pleasure to meet you."

The Doctor, always willing to meet new people, beamed and enthusiastically shook Tosh's hand. "Lovely to meet you, Toshiko-san."

"You could always call her Tosh." Owen said, detaching himself from Gwen and stepping forward.

"Alright, Tosh." The Doctor agreed, catching Tosh's eye and winking before flashing his trademark dazzling smile. Turning his attention back to Owen, he asked: "And...who are you?"

"Owen. Owen Harper." Owen also stuck out his hand in greeting. "And you are...?"

A confused look painted itself across the Doctor's face. Shooting a glance over his shoulder to Rose, he asked, "I introduced myself, didn't I?" Rose shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"How d'ya like that?" Donna asked, rising herself from the table. "More than nine hundred years old, and no manners to mention."

Gwen's mouth dropped open. "You're...nine hundred years old?" She breathed, staring open-mouthed at the Doctor. He beamed at her, slipping his hands into his suit pants pockets. "But you look so young."

The Doctor made a show of acting all embarrassed, but laughed it off. "It's a long story, but my obnoxious friend here is telling the truth." Jack smiled.

"At least she's honest."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the captain, who stood his ground. It seemed as if the Doctor was about to say something, but changed his mind. "So, to answer your question," his attention returned back to Owen. "I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor." Tosh repeated.

"Doctor what?" Owen asked.

"No, I think the correct question is Doctor _who_." Rose corrected with a smile. Owen sent her a curious look.

"What, exactly, are you a doctor of?" Tosh asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning forward, intrigued. The Doctor shrugged.

"Everything. Anything." He replied happily. "I'm a doctor of all trades, and a master of none."

"Wait," Owen held up his hand in a non-verbal sign. "Doesn't it go '_jack_ of all trades, yet master of none'?"

"Well," the Doctor shrugged again and glanced all around the ceiling. "I _would_ be, but his name is Jack." The Doctor pointed at the captain. Rose and Jack were grinning, both more than used to the Doctor's extreme case of eccentric. Donna rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on the edge of her lips.

Owen, Tosh and Gwen just stared. They had each encountered their own brand of crazy in the past, but each past experiences seemed quite sane in comparison to their new acquaintance. None of them knew how to react to him. Rose, well aware of the effect the Doctor was having on the Torchwood staff, stepped forward and reached out her hand. With a smile, she introduced herself.

"I'm Rose Tyler. And this," she gestured to the red-head standing a few paces behind her. "Is Donna Noble."

"Pleased to meet you." Gwen said shyly, shaking Rose's hand. Owen and Tosh, in turn, greeted her in the same manner.

"Rose, you look beautiful by the way." Jack said, sidling over to her. He took her right hand in his and pulled her close to his chest. She smiled and blushed lightly. In the background, still standing by the table, Ianto struggled to hide his emotions. His fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned to an almost translucent white, while his nails bit into his palm. The Doctor, who also had a love interest tangled up in that scene, had the opposite reaction. He remained calm and continued laughing while Rose and Jack put on a show of flirtations. After sneaking a glance at Ianto, whose ears and neck had started to grow red as his eyes remained locked on the scene, the Doctor stepped forward and pulled Rose away by twirling her into his arms. Hugging her from behind, he tossed one more look in Ianto's direction. Ianto looked less like he was going to have a stroke, but he still looked a bit frazzled. The Doctor felt sympathy for him. Having a lover as promiscuous as Jack Harkness could not be easy on the nerves. Nudging Jack, the Doctor nodded in the direction of Ianto, who was subtlety scowering his surroundings, making sure his emotional reaction hadn't been witnessed. Not needing to be told twice, Jack slipped away from his old friends and over next to his boyfriend. Leaning close to Ianto, the captain whispered something in his ear, causing Ianto's face to flush. The Doctor witnessed the scene out of the corner of his eye and smiled inwardly at the pair of them. As mush as Jack occasionally got on his nerves, the Doctor was happy to see him with someone; and away from Jack's would-be attention towards the Doctor. It was hard when the Doctor had finally won the chance to be with Rose, and Jack entered the picture. The one man who wanted, not only him, but Rose, as well. Whoever heard of a four-sided love when there were only three people involved?

Shaking his thoughts aside, the Doctor focused his attention back into the conversation around him. Donna and Gwen had become involved in a discussion about Gwen's past in the police force (apparently Donna had a second cousin who was a policeman in the area); and Owen and Rose were locked into a conversation about alien life forms. Toshiko listened to their conversation in interest.

As they all talked and got to know each other, more than an hour before anyone thought to ask one of the most basic of questions. "So, Captain Harkness," Rose asked in a subtlety obnoxious tone. "What should we do?"

A grin spread across Jack's face. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out something. "I thought we'd all play a little Poker." He showed the brand new deck of cards he held in his palm. Owen smiled, where the rest seemed to come up with the same reaction: blank stares.

"Poker?" The Doctor asked. "You wanted us to travel all this way to spend a few hours playing cards?"

Jack shrugged as he walked over to the table and opened the deck. "Why not?" He asked. "You got time, don't you?" He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes seemed to sparkle as he said: "Timelord." Donna and Rose understood what the captain meant, but Gwen, Owen and Tosh didn't understand. Knowing how their boss liked to joke around, they all merely assumed 'timelord' was a teasing nickname Jack had made up for the mysterious Doctor. The Doctor, meanwhile, made to argue, but realized too soon that he had nothing to say. Sighing in submission, he announced his defeat.

"Alright, alright. We'll play cards." He followed Jack back to the table and took the seat he first occupied. Rose and Donna joined them, followed by the other members of Torchwood. Ianto stood off to the side, acting as he always did like a good butler, but Jack wouldn't hear of it. Pulling up a chair, he ushered Ianto to sit down beside him.

"Play with us." Jack insisted.

Ianto shook his head. "No, I couldn't."

"Oh, c'mon, Ianto. Come join in. It's more fun if we all join in." The Doctor said. Ianto still made to refuse, until he heard pressure from all sides. Unable to discourage them all, he smiled humbly and settled down in the chair between Jack and Tosh. Jack flashed a winning smile that made Ianto's heart leap and his gaze look away in timidity. The Doctor watched, enjoying the sight, as Jack dealt out five cards to each player. They each, in turn, picked up their hand and examined them. Owen's eyes peered suspiciously over his cards at each player while the Doctor leaned in close to Rose and tried to peek at her hand. Rose laughed and shoved him away.

...Two hours later...

The Doctor, Ianto, Jack and Tosh were the only ones still in the game. Owen had put up a tough front from the get-go, but was immediately annihilated when the Doctor called his bluff after the first hand. Rose had only lost on the last round, whereas Gwen had fought through four rounds. She had learned to play in her days on the force, but she'd never been very good. Donna hadn't lasted much longer than Gwen, having little more experience than the lot of them. Although she could bluff among the best of them. Unfortunately, she had been up against some of the best.

The remaining four were taking the game pretty seriously. Jack kept throwing jokes around, acting nonchalant. The Doctor stared at the captain when he wasn't looking. A single drop of sweat cascaded down Jack's right temple. It was then that the Doctor knew. Smiling just over his cards, the Doctor caught the attention of his opponent.

"Feeling the heat are ya, Jack Harkness?"

Jack fixed the Doctor with a level stare. "That's _Captain_ Jack Harkness." He corrected. Although he diverted the question, he by no means assured his innocence. He was definitely bluffing.

Ianto and Tosh, meanwhile, were by far the most serious of them all. Ianto had removed his jacket earlier on and had his sleeves pushed up past his elbows. His tie was even untied while his shirt unbuttoned near his collar. He didn't seem to be feeling any pressure. In fact, far from looking worried about losing, Ianto looked almost intimidating. He and Toshiko were locked into a stare, sizing each other up. They had long since figured out that both the Doctor and Jack had been bluffing. They were both fiercely competitive and were prepared to take each other down.

As another round of bets was placed, Jack opted out. Tossing his cards to the side face-down, he raised his arms in surrender. "I give up. I got nuthin'." The Doctor stared at Jack for a bit, looking as if he was going to go on a random brag of satisfaction. Yet he also put his cards down.

"Too rich for me." He shrugged it off. Jack gaped at him.

"_What_? After all that?" The game continued on around them. Tosh threw in a bit more money. "I see your five pounds and raise you three more."

"Call." Ianto said, tossing his money into the pot. His eyes never left Tosh's. Both were prepared to see this to the end.

"After all that," Jack repeated. "And you _fold_? Lemme see your hand."

"No." The Doctor placed his hand over his lost cards.

"C'mon. Let me see 'em." Jack struggled with the Doctor for a bit before he successfully pulled the cards from under the Doctor's hand.

Between Tosh and Ianto, it was time for it all to end. One of them was going to be victorious. Because Tosh had ended the hand first, she was first to lay down her cards. "Four of a Kind." She announced aloud. Her hand was met with impressed emotions from the crowd. There were only two hands that could beat a Four of a Kind, so it was a close call if Ianto could beat the computer genius of the group.

"Two of a kind!?" Jack exclaimed, tossing down the Doctor's hand. "Why did you even stay in the game with that hand? You lost on purpose."

The Doctor grinned. "I know. But it was fun to watch you squirm." He laughed as Jack kicked him from beneath the table. The Doctor gasped and immediately turned to Rose. "He kicked me!"

"Oh..." Rose made a show of acting and looking completely sympathetic. She brushed her fingers through her hair before kissing his forehead. "You'll get over it." She patted his shoulder while the Doctor's mouth fell open. Jack laughed.

Meanwhile, all other eyes were locked on Ianto and Tosh. Toshiko's arms were resting on the table and a smug look was starting to slide across her face. She was feeling quite confident-- as she should. With only two miniscule chances Ianto had a better hand, that money was as good as hers.

Yet Ianto had a surprise up his sleeve. He slowly placed his cards down on the table, increasing the anticipation as they were exposed to his friends around him. Once each card was in clear view of all the players. Tosh's mouth fell open. She stared wide-eyed at the hand. She couldn't believe it. There was no way...

"Straight Flush." Ianto announced proudly. He chuckled to himself as they all sat back in wonder. Ianto reached into the center of the table and pulled his winnings close to his chest.

"How... how...?" Tosh kept repeating, trying to make sense of how she'd been beat. Captain Jack cleared up some of the mystery for her.

"Ianto used to play Poker when he was a teenager. He was at the professional level."

All eyes turned to stare at Jack as Ianto happily counted up his winnings. "You had us play a _professional_?" Owen asked.

"Ianto's not a professional." Jack replied. "I said he could play at the professional _level_."

"That's the same thing!" Owen insisted. When Jack tried to make his case, he was cut short by Tosh. She had gotten up from her seat, walked across the floor and slapped Jack across the face. The room fell into silence as Tosh glared coldly at her boss before stalking off. They all watched Tosh go as she stomped down the stairs and sought refuse behind her computer. As usual, the Doctor was the first one who dared speak.

"Is...is she going to be alright?"

"Oh, yeah." Jack waved any worry aside. "She'll be fine. Just needs to cool off for a while. We'll give her...oh... about ten minutes." From the floor below them, they could hear a crash and a frustrated "gahhh!" coming from Toshiko right before she slammed her keyboard back onto her desk. The Doctor, Rose, Donna, Gwen, Jack, Ianto, and Owen all sat in silence, frozen. After a few seconds, Jack frowned slightly and readjusted his answer. "Better make that half an hour."

...An hour later...

Music was singing throughout Torchwood. For one night, they could all relax and not have to worry about work. No strange alien sightings had been called in, no mysterious crime scenes needed investigating... for just one night, they could all be normal.

Gwen and Owen were busy dancing on the stairwell, both being careful not to trip and fall. Tosh, who had greatly calmed down, was twirling around in her computer chair, tapping her foot to the beat. Jack and Donna were dancing together ballroom-style on the second floor landing where they'd all played poker. Ianto was cleaning up the last of the tea and cookie crumbs. Sitting off in the corner were Rose and the Doctor, watching the sights as they sat hand-in-hand.

Donna laughed in delight as Jack twirled her around while the song came to a close. She leaned up close to him, regaining her composure after her experience with the room spinning. "You're something there, Mr. Jack."

"Captain." Jack corrected automatically. Donna smiled and nodded her head.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Sorry."

"No problem." Jack replied, spinning her around one more time. "I rather like 'mister', though. Has a certain ring to it."

"Mhmmm... 'Captain' sounds better, though." Donna said as Jack pulled her in for one last dance.

"Really?" He asked, taking time to think about it.

"Yeah." Donna smiled. "It makes you sound distinguished."

"And 'mister' doesn't?"

Donna frowned and shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, every man can be called mister, but not any man has the title of captain." Jack paused a minute to run that thought through his head.

"I suppose so..." he replied slowly.

"I think your boyfriend likes the fact you're a captain." Donna whispered teasingly. For the first time, she actually saw a true reaction out of the enigmatic Jack Harkness. His cheeks grew color as he flushed. He knew he let his emotions show and he struggled to control them. Donna laughed aloud. "Remembering something, are we?" She continued to tease. Jack didn't reply, but he smiled. There was no need for him to respond.

Until the end of the song (and subsequent end of the CD), Jack and Donna danced in silence. When the song finished, Jack raised Donna's hand and kissed it politely. "Never have I danced with someone as wonderful as you, Ms. Noble." Donna chuckled and found herself blushing.

"You and the Doctor," she breathed. "Always so charming." Taking her hand away from Jack's, she smiled at him. "Too bad I know it's not real. I bet you've charmed the pants off your choice of...erm..." Not sure if Jack was gay or bisexual, she chose the neutral term. "Partners. And either way. You're too young for me."

Jack flashed his brilliant smile. "I'm a lot older than I look."

"In that case, you're too old for me." Donna said. Jack laughed aloud and nodded his head. Taking a step closer to her dancing companion, Donna whispered, "Although I think your boyfriend's getting a little jealous," Jack stole a glance up at Ianto who had been watching Jack and Donna's last dance from the floor up. As soon as Jack looked at him, Ianto immediately turned his gaze away. A smile crept across Jack's face. "Maybe you should ask him to dance." She gave Captain Jack a little shove towards the stairs. The captain didn't need to be told twice. As he had done earlier that night, he rushed up the steps two at a time. Once he reached the second floor landing, he called down to Tosh.

"Put in the Beatles CD."

Tosh frowned. "The Beatles?" She repeated. "Why them?"

"I _love_ the Beatles." Jack smiled, reaching Ianto. Slipping his right hand into Ianto's and putting his left hand around Ianto's back, he leaned closer and momentarily kissed his lover. "Put on _Love Me Do_." he said down to Tosh. It took her a few minutes to find the CD but as soon as the music started, Jack pulled Ianto in for a deeper kiss. Owen left Gwen's side in order to rush over to Toshiko. He pulled her up from her seat and swung her around. Tosh laughed with joy as they danced and Gwen, smiling, watched from her seat on the stairs. Meanwhile, Donna wandered over to Rose and the Doctor. "Shall we go?" The Doctor asked. "Places to go, things to see..." Both Rose and Donna nodded their heads in agreement. Rose and the Doctor walked over to the Torchwood group, hand-in-hand, while Donna followed suit. They all said their goodbyes and exchanged hugs with the Torchwood group-- all except Ianto and Jack. Those two remained on the second floor landing, intertwined, and waved their goodbyes. They all threatened to repeat an evening like that one just before Rose, Donna and the Doctor left.

After they got outside and took the several block walk back to the TARDIS' hiding place, Donna noticed that Rose and the Doctor needed some alone time. She volunteered to run ahead and let her companions take in the scenery around them.

"So what did you think?" The Doctor asked, glancing sideways at Rose as they slowly followed behind Donna.

"About Jack?" Rose asked. "Well, I like his boyfriend. Although I always thought he'd go after someone older."

The Doctor laughed, knowing Rose had purposefully not answered what he'd asked. To be more specific, he tried again. "No, I meant about Torchwood. What did you think about them? About their operation?" Rose stopped walking for a moment and looked at the Doctor. For a split second, she caught a hint of worry hidden in his eyes. It was always so hard to tell with him. He was as good at hiding his emotions as Jack was. Better, even. After that split second, the emotion was instinctively masked-- but it only took that small moment for Rose to understand what the Doctor was asking. Rose nodded her head slowly before she started to walk again. "I see. So you're asking because I used to work for Torchwood... and now you're wondering if I'd wanna work for them now..." The Doctor tried to hide it, but it was obvious that Rose had hit the nail on the head. Shrugging, the Doctor managed to maintain a little nonchalance.

"Well, I was curious. You know...maybe seeing all that would make you want to go back." Rose nodded her head and made a show of believing everything he said. When he finished his tangent, she smiled warmly at him.

"I don't want to go back to Torchwood. And I _definitely_ don't want to work for Jack." The Doctor laughed, which made Rose's grin spread. "I want to stay with you." At that, the two companion's eyes locked and they stopped walking once again. Both their eyes hungrily surveyed the others as the world around them slowly seemed to slip out of focus. Caught up in Rose's eyes, the Doctor used the hand that still held hers to pull her closer and press his lips against hers. His arm found its way around her back and gently pulled her in. They pressed themselves together, the heat of their bodies combining. Their minds quickly lost control of the situation. The hands that had been holding each other none too soon broke apart. The Doctor's new found free hand settled against Rose's cheek, brushing his freelance fingers down her neck. Her hand, meanwhile, rested on his shoulder and clenched the fabric of his suit between her fingers. As his tongue slipped across Rose's lower lip, she naturally took a step closer to him to envelope her tighter in his arms. Not too long after that, the Doctor pulled away, still holding Rose close. They clung to each other as their heartbeats normalized and their breathing slowed.

After the Doctor and Rose had calmed down, they slowly pulled away from each other. Sharing a smile, they both walked back to the TARDIS still holding hands. Just after they disappeared behind the doors of the little blue box, the TARDIS was up and running and slowly evaporated from the late Cardiff night.

Back in Torchwood, the five members still danced into the night. It had been a long time since anyone had remembered having quite so much fun. It was possibly the one time they didn't regret following Captain Jack's advice in returning to work. They all hoped to see the Doctor, Rose and Donna again.

As the moon shone over the Cardiff sky and the lights glistened off the water fountain that masked their headquarters, the small group of Torchwood employees felt truly happy. They all danced, they all sang, and they all had a wonderful, brilliant night.

_Fin._


End file.
